Steven Taylor was busy comparing him to Cristiano Ronaldo. Alan Pardew was
nominating him for the left-wing slot in a world XI. André Villas-Boas, his
manager, was suggesting that he can act as bait to lure players from across
Europe to White Hart Lane. There is a very real danger that the Barclays
Premier League is going to run out of superlatives for Gareth Bale.

Newcastle United’s visit to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday lunchtime was laced
with sub-plots, from the home debut of Lewis Holtby, all silken first touch
and darting movement, to the delayed, and slightly mysterious, return of